While they talked, Ella was focusing on her mana draw rates, and Wolfe was working on improving the pathway between them.
This time seemed much easier, and Wolfe wasn’t sure if it had to do with practice or if their bond was stronger. The difference was small, but it was noticeable, and the reason why it existed intrigued Wolfe.
His Magi Bloodline, and with it, his aptitude for all things magical seemed to enhance more rapidly when he was closer and more intimate with the Witches, while the gland that was becoming his Mana Focus and his mana density improved with meditation and sharing his stored mana.
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Every time he emptied and refilled the mana storage, he could improve it a bit more. He drained it at night, which was the mana output that Ella was feeling radiating from him, but if the Witches drew from it to build their Aura, it would drain much faster and allow him to cycle it more frequently.
Wolfe placed both hands on Cassie’s bare knees and whispered in her ear, enjoying the reaction he got from their proximity.
“Since we’re here, draw mana from me and enhance your aura. You should be able to do that as the others practice, and it’s the fastest way to improve.”
She looked suspicious and was clearly thinking that he was going to play a joke on her, but once she began to use his stored mana to refine and bolster her aura, she quickly forgot about everything around her.
Ella’s [Flame Strike] was nearly identical to Cassie’s, impressing both second-year students as well as Reiko, who was holding an animated conversation with Flame, despite the little lizard’s inability to speak.
“That is exhausting. Mary, you’re up.” Ella declared, then flopped down across Wolfe’s lap to place her head on Cassie’s thighs.
“We might have to switch to [Firebolt] after this. We’re all too exhausted after every attempt to continue using [Flame Strike]. Reiko laughed, seeing the two Witches hovering between meditation to work on their aura and simply sleeping.
“I’ll let them know. You and Flame can work on [Firebolt] for a while until they’re ready to go if you’re up to it.” Wolfe agreed.
[Firebolt] went much more smoothly for everyone. By the time the night’s training was over, they had all mastered the spell to an acceptable degree, with the help of the senior class Witches, and were ready to face tomorrow afternoon’s class with great confidence.
Wolfe nearly had to carry the two witches back up to their dorm room, but eventually, they made it, and as they did the night before, Wolfe, Ella and Cassie shared one bed. But unlike last night, nobody slept. Instead, they all spent the night meditating.
Both Witches pulled a constant stream of mana from Wolfe to integrate into their aura, which let him constantly refill his capacity.
The effect on their bond was incredible. With every hour, Wolfe could feel them growing closer to him until he felt like he should almost be able to sense their hidden emotions and not just the surface responses.
That was normal in a Familiar bond, but it took time to develop. The friendly imp from last night’s practice used it specifically to annoy his Witch, but many Familiars used it to gauge what their Witch desired.
By morning, Wolfe had moved from letting them pull mana passively as they meditated to actively injecting a bit extra so that he could drain his mana pouch more quickly and continue his exercises to increase and condense his mana supply.
The pleasurable side effects were just an added bonus to the process.
“Wolfe, if you don’t stop, I won’t be able to hold my voice in,” Cassie whispered in his ear, moving his hand from her back to her knee.
Wolfe took the opportunity to gently slide a finger up her thigh and was about to move further when the alarm went off, startling Ella from her meditation and reminding them that they had a class to get to.
Ella ran her fingers through her tousled blue hair and sighed. “We’re never going to get anything done meditating like that.”
Wolfe didn’t understand her concern. Her aura was clearly much denser than it was last night. Perhaps she simply hadn’t noticed the change yet, since she hadn’t had the chance to compare it to anything.
“I will shower first. Get me in ten minutes if I’m not out.” Ella mumbled and grabbed a clean uniform from her dresser before going to the shower.
“Now, for breakfast,” Wolfe whispered to Cassie, gently pushing her back onto the bed before kissing his way down her body to finish what he had started.
The final push of mana that sent Cassie over the edge was matched by a partially stifled scream of pleasure from the other room, so Wolfe gave Cassie one final hug and a swat on the bottom to send her in to shower.
[Bond Level Increased]
“It was you two. I should have known it. You’re both evil, and you owe me for making me feel her emotions through that Wolfe.” Ella shouted the moment a glowing and dishevelled Cassie came into the showers.
“Turn the shower back on, and we can get dirty before we get clean again,” Wolfe suggested, dropping his clean clothes on the counter as he walked in behind Cassie.
By the time that shower was finished, they had missed breakfast and were headed to the Potions Lab at a full-out run so they weren’t late for class.
The sight of all three with wet hair running through the dorms had the stragglers among the seniors cheering them on, despite having only a slightly shorter trip to their own classes.
“Who do you think they’ve got? Ashcroft?” One of the Second years laughed as the trio ran by.
“Those should be the Witches from Class A that share a Familiar. So yeah, Ashcroft first thing in the morning. I hope they’ve got good stamina, or they’ll be doing potions detentions all week.” Her friend replied with a knowing smirk.
Professor Ashcroft was a very good and understanding teacher, but she had a zero-tolerance policy on tardiness without a teacher’s note or a very good excuse. Fooling around in the shower would not be an acceptable reason for being late to her class.
Wolfe ended up carrying both Witches through the last hallway and down the stairs to class, but they were in the door before the buzzer rang and Professor Ashcroft entered from the prep room in the back.
“Excellent work Mister Wolfe. Your leg strength is truly impressive, but do try to feed your Witches before class. I don’t need them passing out from hunger. You may go assist the other Lab now.” The Professor admonished him while the other Witches from Class A tried to hide their giggles.